The "George" Zebra

A New Mutation in Australia

NOTE THIS VARIETY IS ONLY IN AUSTRALIA AND ONLY IN
ONE PERSONS COLLECTION AND NOT AVAILABLE TO ANYONE!

"GEORGE"

A mutation developed by David and
Marion Reese of Adelaide, South Australia.

Article by Ken Glasson

A couple of weeks ago I had the rare and exciting
experience of seeing a remarkable mutation of Zebra Finch. The
Reeses have called the mutation George after the gentleman in
whose aviaries they first noticed a strange Zebra. At first they
thought they were dealing with some form of Grizzle; subsequent
breeding enhanced the multiple effects of the new mutation but
have not yet fixed all the features to the degree that one description
could be considered appropriate. Many of the features are common
to most birds, but certainly not to a consistent extent. Some
features are not universal.

You will see from the above that the mutation
results in multiple changes to markings, feather pattern, feather
type and size. Ultimately David and Marion will produce their
approved description but at this stage I have their permission
to release the photographs accompanying this note and felt that
some form of description should be presented to assist the viewer.

As to the naming, after seeing the photos you
will probably understand why it would be almost impossible to
coin a descriptive name that recognized all the variations caused
by this mutation.

DESCRIPTION of a Grey cock bird.

The cheek patches are the first thing that
catches your eye; they are larger than normal and flare out from
the head because of directional feathers. Their basic color is
unaffected but there are white spots which increase in size as
they get further from the face. At first glance one could think
that several birds had been fighting as the patches can appear
somewhat ragged. This is not the case; there are small plumes
which seem to extend from the back of the cheek patch on a random
basis, some orange and some white. The throat barring is much
heavier than a normal Grey and is black on white not black on
Grey. There are frequently traces of orange through the throat.
The actual breast bar is not present but there is more black on
the breast where the bar would be. There are several examples
where the bird's face shows white whiskers around the sides and
under the beak. Other heavily marked individuals have no whiskers.
Where there are whiskers under the beak there seems to be a horizontal
parting under the beak where feathers go in opposite directions,
up and down. The flanks vary greatly. Some examples have flanks
where the white spots are replaced with white bars or stripes;
others seem to have plumes of white emanating from the usual red-brown
flank colored base. Some carry black areas to the rear of the
flanking, containing white spots.

The tail seems to be unaffected but the rump
has black and white spots or marks.

One of the more unusual features on this very
unusual mutation is the markings that all birds carry to varying
degrees on their neck, back and wings. On the mantle and down
onto the tertiaries there are bold spots showing black, orange
and white. The spots are broadly heart or kidney bean shaped and
are more distinctive on the Grey birds rather than Fawn, although
still present. Some birds show zebra throat barring extending
around to the back of the head and some other stray marks.

The final attribute is that they are almost
invariably larger and broader than David's other Zebras.

Hens can only be distinguished by their flared
cheeks and the occasional plume around the face. They do show
some bold shadow barring on the chest. They are also rather large
birds.

The first 4 photos are of the same bird. This
bird has the most back markings but it has no whiskers.

This is truly and amazing new Zebra Finch.
It is a fine example of the ability of a species like the Zebra
to produce new and outstanding mutations. It also tells us that
the future of Zebra Finch mutations is far from complete! By the
way, don't get any wild ideas, this mutation is only known in
Australia.